McAbee leads Walmart FLW Series event on Clear Lake
Mark Smith of Dana Point, Calif., leads the Co-angler Division
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Randy McAbee Jr. of Bakersfield, Calif., landed five bass weighing 23 pounds, 4 ounces Wednesday to lead day one of the Walmart FLW Series National Guard Western Division tournament on Clear Lake. He now holds a 1-pound, 12-ounce lead in the tournament featuring 88 pros and 88 co-anglers.
“I’m runnin’ and gunnin’,” said McAbee Jr., who is currently in 26th place in the points standing. “The fish have been very aggressive for me today. I burned two full tanks of gas in my Ranger boat, hitting 25 – 30 spots. I only stayed at each spot for 5 – 10 casts and then moved on.”
McAbee fished on feeding stations: rock points, ledges, and ridges using big swimbaits. He indicated that he caught about 20 fish that were all under 3 pounds in hopes of getting the big kicker fish; his largest fish bagged today was over 6 pounds.
A top-10 finish could push McAbee into the top 20 in the points standing, securing him a spot in the 2010 Forest Wood Cup.
John Alimpic of Angwin, Calif., trails McAbee in the No. 2 spot with five bass weighing 21-8.
Alimpic was topwater fishing using large swimbaits. He, too, was fishing the entire area of the lake and had about 20 spots to fish.
“It helps if you live here,” said Alimpic. “The fish are spread out right now and you won’t catch two fish in the same spot.
Rounding out the top 10 pros after day one at Clear Lake are:
3rd: Team Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee pro Brett Hite, Phoenix, five bass, 21-3
4th: Cameron Smith, Dana Point, Calif., five bass, 20-15
5th: Tommy Cardoza, Lakeport, Calif., five bass, 20-11
6th: Rob Riehl, Tracy, Calif., five bass, 20-9
7th: Kazuki Kodama, Torrance, Calif., five bass, 20-8
8th: Jared Lintner, Arroyo Grande, Calif., five bass, 20-6
9th: Team National Guard pro Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., five bass, 19-10
10th: Roy Hawk, Salt Lake City, five bass, 19-9
Cameron Smith earned the day’s $290 Big Bass award in the Pro Division thanks to a 6-pound, 14-ounce bass he caught on a Sworming Hornet Fish Head Spin jig.
Overall there were 397 bass weighing 1,346 pounds caught by 88 pros Wednesday. The catch included 73 five-bass limits.
Pros are competing this week for a top award of over $105,000 plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for a shot at the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup.
Mark Smith of Dana Point, Calif., leads the Co-angler Division with an impressive five bass weighing 27-10, followed by John Wick of San Diego in second place with five bass weighing 18-15.
“We fished very slow today,” said Smith, whose son Cameron is currently in fourth place in the Pro Division. “We fished in three areas today, and I caught my two big boys on a bank within 100 yards of each other.”
Smith caught his bass using a Texas rig while fishing with pro Rick Correa of Sherwood, Ore., who is currently in 28th place with five bass weighing 17-15.
Rounding out the top five co-anglers are Richard Taylor of Shingle Springs, Calif. (5 bass, 18-5); Joseph Smink of Modesto, Calif. (5 bass, 18-2) and Rus Snyder of San Bruno, Calif. (5 bass, 17-14).
Mark Smith also earned $193 for the Big Bass award in the Co-angler Division thanks to an 8-pound, 12-ounce bass he caught on a Texas rig.
Overall there were 254 bass weighing 766 pounds, 4 ounces caught by 88 co-anglers Wednesday. The catch included only 26 five-bass limits.
Co-anglers are competing this week for a top award of over $19,000 as well as a shot at the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup.
Thursday and Friday anglers will take off at 7:30 a.m. from Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa located at 8727 Soda Bay Road in Kelseyville, Calif., Saturday take off will be from Redbud Park located at 14655 Lakeshore Drive, Clearlake, Calif. Thursday and Friday’s weigh-in will be held at the Konocti Marina beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Walmart store located at 15960 Dam Road in Clearlake, Calif., beginning at 4 p.m. Children will also be treated to a Family Fun Zone prior to Saturday’s weigh-in from noon to 4 p.m. at Walmart. Activities in the Family Fun Zone include a trout pond, a National Guard boat simulator and assorted fishing-themed games. All activities are free and open to the public.
In FLW Series competition, pros and co-anglers are randomly paired each day, with pros supplying the boat, controlling boat movement and competing against other pros. Co-anglers fish from the back deck against other co-anglers. The total purse for the Clear Lake tournament is nearly $900,000, including nearly $9,000 through 29th place in the Pro Division.
Top point earners from the Walmart FLW Tour, Walmart FLW Series, Stren Series, Walmart BFL, and the National Guard FLW College Fishing National Champion will advance to the 2010 Forrest Wood Cup in Atlanta, Ga., which will be held at Lake Lanier.
Coverage of the Clear Lake tournament, hosted by Konocti Harbor Resort & Spa, will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on VERSUS, the network which brings anglers the best fishing programming on television featuring the most-trusted authorities on the water. The Emmy-nominated “FLW Outdoors,” will air Nov. 22 from 12:30 to 1:30 ET. “FLW Outdoors,” hosted by Jason Harper, is broadcast to approximately 500 million households worldwide, including internationally through agreements with WFN (World Fishing Network) and Matchroom Sport to such countries as Canada, Germany, China, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Russia, Hungary and the United Kingdom, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoor-sports television show in the world
Total awards are based on 88 boats in this tournament.
FLW Outdoors, named after Forrest L. Wood, the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, is the largest fishing tournament organization in the world. FLW Outdoors also is taking fishing mainstream with FLW Fantasy Fishing, offering the largest awards possible in the history of fantasy sports, $10 million in cash and prizes.
For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournaments, call (270) 252-1000. For more information about FLW Fantasy Fishing and Player’s Advantage, visit FantasyFishing.com.